UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial: London 2016 Concept

Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon will host a UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial in London on 8 September 2016.

On 28 September 2015, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama joined nearly 50 Heads of States, and representatives from around the world to make an unprecedented commitment to UN peacekeeping.

At a time when UN peacekeepers are being called on to do even more, 52 nations and international organisations pledged an extra 40,000 troops along with training, equipment, police contingents, engineers, intelligence units, and helicopters.

One year on, the UK together with the United Nations, is hosting a follow-up event at Lancaster House in London to accelerate these global efforts.

Bringing together Defence Ministers from 80 countries – those collectively responsible for the resources promised to the UN – the event’s purpose is threefold:

To improve the planning of peacekeeping operations – so the UN can better match requirements to capabilities;

To implement the pledges made back in September – to guarantee the UN can continue to field its force in the future

To up the performance of peacekeepers so UN forces are: better-led and better-trained; better balanced – with more women participating; and more capable of protecting civilians on the ground – including by implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda and preventing incidents of sexual exploitation and abuse:

Together these three P’s provide a blueprint for better peacekeeping in the 21st century.

And better peacekeeping means fewer lives destroyed by conflict, fewer areas of conflict for extremists to exploit and greater security for all.

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